Was Jesus against the Jewish religion? Many people thought He was because He overruled many little regulations which God had never intended. Today's passage is Jesus' introduction to what God really meant in the Old Testament. He wanted people's hearts to be right, and have relationships which pleased Him. Nobody could ever please God by obeying every instruction – because nobody can do that ... we are all sinful human beings.

The purpose of the law was to show people how different their lives were compared to the holy standard of God's righteousness. Even the animal sacrifices could not make them right with God: only the sacrifice of Jesus could do that. In His death, Jesus accepted all the punishment of the law Himself, so that lawbreakers might be set free to worship God as holy people.

However, Jesus was often accused of undermining the Jewish law. In one way He did, because many little rules which God never intended had been added by religious leaders who did not understand God's heart. The law can never make anybody good. Jesus came to show that righteousness can only be achieved, and unrighteousness can only be cleaned, by admitting failure and trusting in Him.

The way forward in the Christian life is all to do with having a right heart before God. It is easy to follow little religious rules, but so difficult to be whole-hearted for the truth. We cannot achieve this by ourselves; we need the love of Father God to motivate us, the sacrifice of Jesus to cleanse us and the power of the Holy Spirit to energise us to live in wisdom, grace and truth. So, wise Christians admit their weakness, confess their sin, appeal for righteousness in their hearts and boldness to live in a way that pleases God. The workplace is the ideal place to practise this … today!